Portable swaging gun

ABSTRACT

A gun for holding a sleeve on a tube and for firing an explosive cartridge placed within the tube. The gun has a collet for gripping the sleeve, a firing pin positioned to fire the cartridge, and a sudden-release cam which cocks and releases the firing pin. A safety device is also provided to prevent accidental firings.

United States Patent Stonestrom 51 May 16, 1972 54] PORTABLE SWAGING GUN 3,120,259 2/1964 Orr ..72/56 [72] Inventor: Donald M. stonestmm, west Chester Pa 3,127,923 4/1964 Cadwell ..72/56 [73] Assignee: Atlas Chemical Industries, Inc., Wilming- OTHER PUBLICATIONS I011, Small Arms of the World," by W. H. B. Smith, page 676, Mar. Service CO.. Harr1sburg, Pa. [21] App]. No.: 21,296

Primary ExaminerRichard .l. Herbst 52 us. (:1 ..29/2s2, 72/56, 29/421 army-Kenneth Mulford and Roger Horton s 1 1111. C1 ..B2ld 26/08 ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search ..72/56; 29/421, 421 E, 282 1 A gun for holding a sleeve on a tube and for firing an explosive [56] References Cited cartridge placed within the tube. The gun has a collet for gripping the sleeve, a firing pin positioned to fire the cartridge, UNlTED STATES PATENTS and a sudden-release cam which cocks and releases the firing 3,566,646 3/1971 Walkup ..72/56 EE Safety acme is also pmvlded to prevent accldema] 3,287,947 11/1966 Frantz et al. ....72/56 3,566,649 3/1971 McSmith "29/421 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMY 16 I972 SHEET 1 OF 3 INVENTOR Donald M. Stonestrom BY W ATTORNEY PATENTEBMM 16 1972 3,662,452

SHEET 2 BF 3 FIGJI INVENTOR Donald M. Sronestrom ATTORNEY PATENTEDMAY 16 I972 SHEET 3 OF 3 ml Ev mm mm w 5 PM mv mm INVENTOR Donald M. Stonestrom BY W ATTORNEY PORTABLE SWAGING GUN This invention relates to a gun for swaging a sleeve unto a tube by firing an explosive cartridge placed within the tube. The tube may then be removably attached to another similar tube or other fixture by means of a fitting which is afiixed to the sleeve. The swaging gun of this invention is completely portable and may be carried and used anywhere without hoses, tubes, or wires attached to it. It is provided with safety devices to prevent injury to the operator and may be used without the danger of accidental explosions or contact with hot parts. The tubing is left uncontaminated after the explosion as no gases or debris are admitted into the tubing. The gun comprises a collet for gripping the sleeve and a means for firing the cartridge. Means for removing the cartridge are also provided.

THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings, FIG. I is a side view in cross sec tion showing the front portion of the gun with the firing mechanism in the firing position and the explosive cartridge placed within the tube.

FIG. II is a side view partially in section showing the back portion of the gun with the firing mechanism in a safety position.

FIG. III is a plan view in cross section of the back portion of the gun.

FIG. IV is a sectional view through lines A-A of FIG. II.

FIG. V is a sectional view throgh lines B-B of FIG. III.

THE EXPLOSIVE CARTRIDGE The portable swaging gun of this invention is used to fire an explosive cartridge such as the one described in copending application by John T. M. Lee and Donald P. Keathley, Ser. No. 874,767, filed Nov. 7, 1969. The tool may also be found useful for firing other types of cartridges.

Referring to FIG. I, the cartridge 1 has a head portion 2, a middle portion 3, and an end portion 4 which has been relieved with bevel 5 to make the cartridge easier to remove. A transfer medium 6, such as a piece of rubber tubing, substantially fills the space between the head and end portions of the cartridge, and is confined during the explosion by means of sealing rings 7 and 8. An explosive charge 9 is contained within the middle portion 3. The head portion of the cartridge contains a void 10 into which the gases produced by the explosion can expand. Also provided is a percussion primer 1] which initiates the charge when struck and a lip 12 which enables the cartridge to be easily removed once fired as hereinafter explained.

In the presently preferred embodiment of this invention, cartridges are provided having 1 /4-inch diameter heads and end and middle portions adapted for use with 74- and %-inch tubing and having l-inch diameter heads and end and middle portions adapted for use with '14-, and z-inch tubing. The swaging gun has therefore been constructed to accommodate cartridges having heads of two different diameters.

INSERTING THE SLEEVE Referring to FIG. I, a sleeve 13 to be swaged to the end of a piece of tubing 14 is inserted into the swaging gun by first unscrewing collar 15 to the left which causes the four sections (two of which are shown) of the split die 16 to move apart under the force of springs 17. The sleeve 13 is then inserted until it rests against circular die 18. The collar is then screwed to the right which forces the four sections of the split die together so that they receive the sleeve but allow enough clearance to permit tubing 14 to be inserted until it hits stop 19 of the circular die. Die housing 20 holds the split and circular dies together to form a collet; three equally spaced set screws 21 (one of which is shown) prevent the circular die 18 from moving axially when collar 15 is unscrewed. A different sized split and circular die must be used for each tubing size since the sleeve must be contacted within tolerance limits by the dies during the explosion to prevent distortion and possible rupture of the sleeve.

OPENING THE GUN Referring now to FIGS. II and III, a housing 22 which is screwed into die housing 20 (shown in FIG. I) contains a horizontally movable assembly 23. The movable assembly is moved by turning firing knob 24. Referring to FIG. V, machined into the firing knob are three slots 25 which engage knobs 26 of cam housing 27 in FIG. III. The cam housing has threads 28 which engage the threads of housing 22, thus causing the cam housing to move to the right when the firing knob is turned counterclockwise when viewed from the rear of the gun. A thrust washer 29 held in place by retaining ring 30 is affixed to firing mechanism housing 31 so that the cam housing rotates against thrust washer 29. The firing mechanism housing is, therefore, also drawn to the right but does not rotate because safety bar 32 must ride in grooves 33 and 34 in housing 22 (see FIG. II). Groove 33 is machined differently from groove 34 as is each end of safety bar 32 so as to prevent misassembly (see also FIG. IV). In FIG. II, continued rotation of the firing knob will cause the movable assembly to move to the right until threads 28 disengage from mating threads in housing 22 after which it may be pulled out until safety bar 32 strikes set screw 35. In this position, an explosive cartridge may be inserted through the opening 36.

INSERTING THE CARTRIDGE FIG. I shows a cartridge 1 having a small diameter head. The head of this cartridge, when it is dropped through opening 36, rests on bevel 37 of cartridge track 38 as shown in FIG. IV and the cutaway portion of FIG. I. This bevel is at an angle such that, when the head of the small diameter cartridge rests upon it, the end portion of the cartridge is aimed directly at the opening of the circular die so that the cartridge may be inserted by simply moving it to the left as it rides on the bevel of the cartridge track. A cartridge having a large diameter head would rest on the top of the cartridge track in line with the opening of the circular die and would be inserted by simply moving it to the left.

CLOSING THE GUN Once the cartridge has been inserted, the firing knob 24 is pushed to the left until threads 29 engage their mating threads in housing 22 and knob 24 is turned clockwise (viewed from the rear) so that the movable assembly continues to move to the left. In the furthermost left position, the cartridge positioning flange 39 (see FIGS. I, II, and III) supports the cartridge having the small diameter head (the cartridge having the large diameter head is relieved to receive flange 39 when it is used). Referring to FIG. III (also FIG. IV), as the movable assembly was moved to the left, cartridge ejector links 40 struck the cartridge, rotated on pins 41 compressing springs 42, and snapped over the cartridge lip 12 (in FIG. I).

FIRING THE GUN Referring again to the position of the movable mechanism as shown in FIG. III, when firing knob 24 is pulled (not turned) to the right, retaining ring 43 pushes thrust washer 44 against spring bearings 45 and compresses springs 46. This disengages slots 25 from knobs 26. The firing knob can then be turned so that the solid portion of the firing knob not having slots 25 therein rides over knobs 26. In this case, retaining ring 43 rides over thrust washer 44 and cam housing 28 is not turned. However, the extensions 47 of the firing knob still engage movable cam 48 (see FIGS. III and V). In FIG. III, the movable cam is thus rotated against stationary cam 49 which is fixed to the cam housing 27 by pin 50 (cutaway portion of FIG. II). In FIG. III, the movable and the stationary cams each have three cusps 51 and 52, respectively, which rise gradually from the cams to a peak then suddenly drop off. As the movable cam 48 rotates, these cusps force it to the right. The movable cam is fixed to firing rod 53 by means of a pin 54, thus the firing rod is moved to the right also. Hammer 55 having an enlarged portion 56 and a front portion 57 forms the forward portion of the firing rod. As the hammer moves to the right, spring 58 is compressed. Thus, after the firing knob has been turned 120, the movable cam will have moved to the top of the cusps and will snap to the left under the force of spring 58, and knobs 26 will re-engage with slots 25.

In FIG. II, the swaging tool is shown in the safety position. Thus, when the hammer is released, the cartridge is not fired because the hammer 55 does not strike firing pin 59 (having enlarged portion 60 and front portion 61) and the force is not transmitted to the percussion primer.

However, when safety bar 32 is pushed down (see FIGS. 1 and III), the firing pin is struck by the hammer and the force is transmitted to the percussion primer which fires the cartridge. In FIG. II, a ball plunger 62, under compression, rests in a notch 63 in the safety bar to prevent it from accidently moving down. Note that the movable assembly will not move to the right unless the safety bar is up in the safe position so that the bottom of the safety bar does not strike housing 22. Also, the movable assembly must be fully to the left (closed) in order to push the safety bar down into hole 64, the firing position.

EJECTING THE CARTRIDGE Once the cartridge has been fired, the safety bar is moved up and the firing knob 24 is turned which moves the movable assembly to the right. Since the cartridge expands after firing, considerable force is needed to remove it. Threads 29 provide a mechanical advantage which supplies the necessary force and cartridge ejector links 40 pull the cartridge out of the tubing (see FIG. III). When the cartridge ejector links have moved sufficiently to the right, they strike trip pins 65 which move the right end of the cartridge ejector links inward rotating them about pins 41 and releasing the cartridge.

Collar is then turned (FIG. I) which opens the split die so that the tubing with the sleeve swaged thereto can be removed. The swaging tool can be simply inverted so that the spent cartridge falls out (it is cool enough to remove by hand, if desired).

What is claimed is:

l. A gun for swaging a tube into a sleeve which comprises means for supporting the outside of a sleeve,

means for inserting a tube in said sleeve,

releasable means for holding an explosive cartridge including a percussion igniter in said tube and adjacent said sleeve, a hammer, a firing pin having a position between said hammer and said igniter and in line with said hammer and said igniter,

means for moving said firing pin into and out of alignment with said hammer and said ignition means, said means for moving said firing pin being inoperative when said releasable means is released,

urging means exerting a force on said hammer in the direction of said igniter,

means for moving said hammer counter to the force exerted by said urging means,

means for releasing said hammer, and

means for removing said cartridge from said tube.

2. A gun for swaging a tube into a sleeve which comprises means for supporting the outside of a sleeve,

means for inserting a tube in said sleeve,

means for holding an explosive cartridge including a percussion igniter in said tube and adjacent said sleeve,

a hammer,

a firing pin having a position between said hammer and said igniter and in line with said hammer and said igniter, urging means exerting a force on said hammer in the direction of said igniter,

means for moving said hammer counter to the force exerted by said urging means,

means for releasing said hammer, and

means for removing said cartridge from said tube, wherein said hammer is provided with a driving shaft,

10 prises means for holding said sleeve and said tube,

positioning means for holding explosive means in said tube for accomplishing such swaging hammer means urged toward said explosive means for initiating said explosive means,

an inner housing surrounding said hammer means, and attached to said positioning means,

an outer housing attached to said means for holding said sleeve and partially enclosing said inner housing,

said inner housing being in threaded relationship with said outer housing so that on turning said inner housing said inner housing positioning means and hammer means move axially with respect to said explosive means,

turning means, engagable and disengagable with said inner housing, providing, when engaged with said inner housing, means for turning said inner housing relative to said outer housing, and, when disengaged from said inner housing, means for retracting and releasing said hammer means.

4. A gun in accordance with claim 3 wherein an access means is provided through said outer housing for inserting and removing said explosive means when said inner housing is moved away from said explosive means.

5. A gun in accordance with claim 4 including a fixture holding a firing pin,

said fixture being movable through apertures in said outer and inner housing so as to place said firing pin into and out of position between and in line with said hammer means and said explosive means, said apertures being so located as to be in registry and permit such motion of said fixture when said positioning means is located to position said explosive means in said tube.

6. A gun in accordance with claim 4 including finger means attached to said inner housing for grasping said explosive means,

said finger means being provided with two ends and a pivot therebetween,

one end of said finger means being provided with grasping means for said explosive means,

spring means which urge the other end of said finger means outward so that said grasping end engages said explosive means, and

means provided on said outer housing for pressing the other end of said finger means against said spring as said inner housing is moved therein away from said sleeve.

7. A gun for swaging a tube into a sleeve which comprises means for supporting the outside of a sleeve,

means for inserting a tube in said sleeve,

means for holding an explosive cartridge, including a percussion igniter, in a tube and adjacent said sleeve,

a hammer,

a firing pin having a position between said hammer and said igniter and in line with said hammer and said igniter,

urging means exerting a force on said hammer in the direction of said igniter,

means for moving said hammer counter to the force exerted by said urging means,

means for releasing said hammer, and

means for removing said cartridge from said tube, wherein said hammer is provided with a driving shaft axially slidable in an inner housing,

said inner housing is threadedly engaged inside an outer housing so that on turning said inner housing it is moved axially in line with said ignition means,

said driving means are moved axially counter to said urging means and then released.

8. A gun in accordance with claim 7 further including means which in one position is operative to turn said inner housing and said driving means and in another position is operative to turn said driving means and not said inner housmg. 

1. A gun for swaging a tube into a sleeve which comprises means for supporting the outside of a sleeve, means for inserting a tube in said sleeve, releasable means for holding an explosive cartridge including a percussion igniter in said tube and adjacent said sleeve, a hammer, a firing pin having a position between said hammer and said igniter and in line with said hammer and said igniter, means for moving said firing pin into and out of alignment with said hammer and said ignition means, said means for moving said firing pin being inoperative when said releasable means is released, urging means exerting a force on said hammer in the direction of said igniter, means for moving said hammer counter to the force exerteD by said urging means, means for releasing said hammer, and means for removing said cartridge from said tube.
 2. A gun for swaging a tube into a sleeve which comprises means for supporting the outside of a sleeve, means for inserting a tube in said sleeve, means for holding an explosive cartridge including a percussion igniter in said tube and adjacent said sleeve, a hammer, a firing pin having a position between said hammer and said igniter and in line with said hammer and said igniter, urging means exerting a force on said hammer in the direction of said igniter, means for moving said hammer counter to the force exerted by said urging means, means for releasing said hammer, and means for removing said cartridge from said tube, wherein said hammer is provided with a driving shaft, said means for moving said hammer counter to said urging means includes opposed cam surfaces, one affixed to and rotatable with said driving shaft and the other maintainable in fixed relation to said igniter, and wherein said cam surfaces include cusps constructed to provide gradual movement to separate said hammer and said primer against the force exerted by said urging means and sudden release of said urging means.
 3. A gun for swaging a tube and sleeve together which comprises means for holding said sleeve and said tube, positioning means for holding explosive means in said tube for accomplishing such swaging hammer means urged toward said explosive means for initiating said explosive means, an inner housing surrounding said hammer means, and attached to said positioning means, an outer housing attached to said means for holding said sleeve and partially enclosing said inner housing, said inner housing being in threaded relationship with said outer housing so that on turning said inner housing said inner housing positioning means and hammer means move axially with respect to said explosive means, turning means, engagable and disengagable with said inner housing, providing, when engaged with said inner housing, means for turning said inner housing relative to said outer housing, and, when disengaged from said inner housing, means for retracting and releasing said hammer means.
 4. A gun in accordance with claim 3 wherein an access means is provided through said outer housing for inserting and removing said explosive means when said inner housing is moved away from said explosive means.
 5. A gun in accordance with claim 4 including a fixture holding a firing pin, said fixture being movable through apertures in said outer and inner housing so as to place said firing pin into and out of position between and in line with said hammer means and said explosive means, said apertures being so located as to be in registry and permit such motion of said fixture when said positioning means is located to position said explosive means in said tube.
 6. A gun in accordance with claim 4 including finger means attached to said inner housing for grasping said explosive means, said finger means being provided with two ends and a pivot therebetween, one end of said finger means being provided with grasping means for said explosive means, spring means which urge the other end of said finger means outward so that said grasping end engages said explosive means, and means provided on said outer housing for pressing the other end of said finger means against said spring as said inner housing is moved therein away from said sleeve.
 7. A gun for swaging a tube into a sleeve which comprises means for supporting the outside of a sleeve, means for inserting a tube in said sleeve, means for holding an explosive cartridge, including a percussion igniter, in a tube and adjacent said sleeve, a hammer, a firing pin having a position between said hammer and said igniter and in line with said hammer and said igniter, urging means exerting a forCe on said hammer in the direction of said igniter, means for moving said hammer counter to the force exerted by said urging means, means for releasing said hammer, and means for removing said cartridge from said tube, wherein said hammer is provided with a driving shaft axially slidable in an inner housing, said inner housing is threadedly engaged inside an outer housing so that on turning said inner housing it is moved axially in line with said ignition means, a first cam means in which said driving shaft is slidable and affixed to said inner housing, a second cam means cooperating with said first cam means is slidable in said inner housing and affixed to said driving shaft, said urging means urges said hammer relative to said inner housing, said cam means, cooperating so that on turning said driving shaft relative to said inner housing said second cam and said driving means are moved axially counter to said urging means and then released.
 8. A gun in accordance with claim 7 further including means which in one position is operative to turn said inner housing and said driving means and in another position is operative to turn said driving means and not said inner housing. 